Local Scouts fundraise for food pantry

Inspired by a Cub Scout project to collect food for those in need, two Zionsville Boy Scouts are selling seasoned firewood to raise money for the Zionsville Food Pantry.

John Gunderman, left, and Will Selm are selling firewood to raise money for a food pantry (submitted photo)

John Gunderman and Will Selm, seventh-graders at Zionsville West Middle School, have created a wood rack in front of a home on Sycamore Street near Michigan Road. They are asking for freewill donations for the wood. They plan to purchase food with the funds to donate to the pantry.

The boys were inspired by their previous Scouting experience, selling Christmas trees to help their troop. Initially planning to create a for-profit lawn-mowing business to raise funds, they decided they could accomplish it through donations for firewood.

The seasoned firewood is from a tree that was struck by lightning four years ago on the Selm property. Selm and his father split the logs.

“We had a bunch of wood and we had a place to sell it,” Gunderman said. “There’s definitely a lot of wood and we found something to do with it.”

In previous years, the boys traversed local neighborhoods during the Cub Scouts’ “Scouting for Food” project. Selm said he enjoys seeing how much food they can collect.

Gunderman and Selm are confident they’ll have enough wood to keep the log-holder stocked throughout the year. Their next goal is to create a bigger sign to advertise the project.